Trying to get some school work done while J-boy is in therapy.
Each morning around 9:00 we finish up our chores and gather in the living room for our Circle Time. It serves as the first bookend of our school day, a transition from physical work to mental work.
For Calendar Time, the student of the day* places the day's number on the calendar. This is a great activity for the whole family: the younger ones counting, learning the days of the week and the months of the year; the older ones working on other calendar and time-related questions. Here are a sampling:
Number of days in a week, month (poem), year, leap year New vocabulary: decade, century, millennium, annual, biannual, etc.
Number of hours in a day, minutes in an hour, etc.
There are so many fun ways to use calendar time.
Pledge of Allegiance
Patriotic Song, chosen by the student of the day*
Joni Eareckson Tada and Bobbie Wolgemuth have co-authored four wonderful books, Hymns for a Kid's Heart: vol. I & II, Christmas Carols, and Passion Hymns. Stories of the hymn-writers as well as a devotional, Scripture, and prayer add much to our appreciation of hymnody. Each book includes a fully orchestrated CD and a children's choir singing along with Joni. I highly recommend these books. Not only do I love them, my children love them, too.
Scripture Memory
I choose a passage or chapter which we work on for a month. We repeat the passage three times each morning, usually making up motions to help us along. We've also done little drawings for each verse. It is a fun, simple, calm method of memorization.
Using the CMML magazine, we read about a missionary's needs and find their respective country on the map.
Prayer Time: for the missionary and for our day
We read two chapters of Scripture each day, listening online with child following along in their Bibles. The children take turns narrating each chapter. Here is one helpful definition of narration, Charlotte Mason style. We are nearly finished with I Chronicles!
2009-2010 Memorization Plan
August: Review I Corinthians 13
Hymn: The Power Of The Cross
September: Review Psalm 23
Hymn: What Can Wash Away My Sin?
October: Psalm 1
Hymn: To God Be The Glory
November: Psalm 121
Hymn: Angels We Have Heard On High
December: Isaiah 9:2-7
Hymn: Joy To The World
January: Galatians 5:22,23; Matthew 5:1-16
Hymn: Like A River Glorious
February: I John 4:7-12
Hymn: Take My Life
March: John 15:1-8
Hymn: Man of Sorrows
April: John 15:9-17
Hymn: Up From the Grave
May: Review
Hymn: Amazing Grace
*The "student of the day" serves to resolve any conflicts among the children about whose turn it is, from updating the calendar to who prays at mealtime to who goes with mommy on an errand. I write each child's initial on each day of the calendar rotating through by age.
Note: I have wanted to post about our school year, but it seemed a daunting task to put it all down at once. So here and there I will add posts to this series about our curriculum and schedule.
The lovely Heidi at Mt. Hope Chronicles had a drawing for these beautiful notecards she created, and I was so happy to be a winner of a set. She is a gifted photographer and a homeschool mom of three handsome young men. I'm pretty sure I found her blog through a Google search for some inspiration for homeschool rooms. Can you see why she is now in my reader??? Love her decor and organization!
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